How to Crochet a Bear (Easy Beginner Amigurumi Pattern)

Lay out everything before you start. You need two colors of sport-weight yarn (the main color for the body and ears, plus white for the muzzle), a 3.25 mm hook, 6 mm safety eyes, polyester fiberfill, stitch markers, scissors, black embroidery thread for the nose, and a tapestry needle for sewing the pieces together.

You can swap yarn weights if you want a bigger or smaller bear. Worsted weight with a 4 mm hook will give you a chubbier 4.5-inch bear. DK weight with a 3 mm hook will keep the proportions and finish closer to 3 inches. Just keep your hook a half-size smaller than the yarn label recommends so the stitches stay tight.

This bear doesn't start with a magic ring like most amigurumi. It starts with a foundation chain that builds an oval instead of a circle, which is what gives the body its slightly stretched, tubby shape.

Make a slip knot, put your hook through, and chain seven. Count out loud - that's seven chain stitches not counting the loop on your hook. You'll work into both sides of this chain in the next step to form the oval base of the body.

Round 1 turns the chain into a 12-stitch oval. Skip the first chain from the hook and work 5 single crochets along one side of the chain. Put 2 single crochets into the last chain to round the end. Then turn the work and crochet 5 more single crochets along the other side of the chain. That's 12 stitches total.

Rounds 2 through 6 are the increase rounds. Round 2: inc in every stitch (24 sts). Round 3: 1 sc + inc repeated (30 sts). Round 4: 2 sc + inc repeated (36 sts). Round 5: 3 sc + inc repeated (42 sts). Round 6: 4 sc + inc repeated (48 sts). Drop a stitch marker into the last stitch of each round so you don't lose your place.

Work four more plain single-crochet rounds (still 48 stitches each), then place the eyes between rounds 9 and 10. Count down from the top of the work - the foundation chain is round 1, the first 12-stitch round, then round 2 (24 sts), and so on.

Push each 6 mm safety eye through from the outside in, between two stitches (not through one). You want exactly 7 stitches between the two eyes for the right facial spacing. Snap the washer onto the back of each post. Once the washer locks on, the eye is in forever - so hold the bear up at arm's length and check the placement before you commit.

After placing the eyes, work one more increase round: 7 sc + inc repeated 6 times (54 stitches). Then 8 plain rounds of single crochet all around at 54 stitches each. The body will stretch into a tube taller than it is wide.

Now start the decreases for the rounded bottom. Round by round: 8 sc + dec (54 sts), 7 sc + dec (48 sts), 4 sc + dec repeated 8 times (40 sts), 3 sc + dec x8 (32 sts), 2 sc + dec x8 (24 sts). Use the invisible decrease - insert your hook through only the front loops of the next two stitches, yarn over, pull through both, then yarn over and pull through. It hides the dec on the inside.

Once the opening narrows to around 24 stitches, pause and stuff. Pull the fiberfill into small chunks (about the size of a walnut) and push them in one at a time from the bottom up. Layering it like this keeps the stuffing smooth - one big wad of fiberfill always shows as a lump.

Stuff firmer than feels comfortable. If you press the bear and it bounces back, it's right. If your finger leaves a dent, push more in. Loose amigurumi sags within a week. Add a little more stuffing after every couple of decrease rounds until the opening is too small to fit any more.

The last few rounds close the body fast: 1 sc + dec x8 (16 sts), then dec x8 (8 sts), then dec x4 to close the final ring. Switch from the invisible decrease to a regular decrease here - the stitches get too small to fit your hook through both front loops.

Cut a tail about 8 to 10 inches long and pull the loop on your hook all the way through to finish off. Thread the tail through a tapestry needle, then weave it through the front loops of every remaining stitch around the top opening. Pull the tail tight to cinch the hole closed completely. Insert the needle down through the center of the bear and out anywhere else on the body, then snip the tail flush.

Each arm is tiny: start with a magic ring, work 6 sc inside it, then 3 more rounds of plain sc all around (still 6 stitches each round). Finish off with a 10-inch tail, fold the arm flat, and tuck the starting tail inside. Make two of these.

The ears use the same start but add one increase round. Magic ring with 6 sc, then round 2: inc in every stitch (12 sts), then 2 plain rounds at 12 stitches. Flip the work inside out as you go so the right side faces out. Finish off with a 10-inch tail, fold the ear flat, and trim the starting tail inside. Make two ears.

Switch to white yarn for the muzzle. Magic ring with 6 sc, then round 2: 1 sc + inc repeated 3 times (9 sts). Round 3: 2 sc + inc repeated 3 times (12 sts). Round 4: plain sc all around (still 12 sts). Slip stitch into the next stitch to close, leave a 10-inch tail for sewing.

Now embroider the nose. Thread black embroidery thread through your needle and stitch a small triangle in the center of the muzzle, about three or four passes for good coverage. Lightly stuff the muzzle with a pinch of fiberfill before you sew it on - it should pop out from the face a little, not lie flat.

Pin every piece in place before sewing. The muzzle goes centered on the face with its top edge level with the top of the safety eyes. The ears sit on top of the head with a slight curve outward. The arms go roughly halfway down the body, pointing slightly forward.

Sew each piece on with a whip stitch. Thread the tail through your tapestry needle, then go in through the body, come up through the edge of the piece you're sewing, and repeat all the way around. Pull each stitch snug but not tight enough to crumple the body. When you're done, bury the tail by pushing the needle through the body and out the back, then snip flush.

Trim every remaining tail flush with the body. If a strand of yarn still shows, push it back inside with the back of your needle. Your bear is finished. Pose it on a shelf, gift it, or add accessories like a tiny hat or a knit scarf to dress it up.